Monday, March 14, 2011

Hey everyone!

Thx to everyone who prayed for LA's safety during her procedure today! Lillie's Endoscopy/Colonoscopy went very well. The doctor sat down with us afterwards to show us the pictures of her esophagus and large/small bowels. There was no sign of inflammation or lezions/ulcers. There was nothing that he could see (visually) that was causing her problems....unfortunately, he couldn't rule out IBS, Crohn's or Colitis until he gets the biopsy's back (which will be Thursday). BUT, we were very relieved that he saw no signs of a functional problem today!

He shared with Chad and I that he's highly suspicious that Lillie has something called "Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome". It is basically a migraine that sends messages to the stomach (via the nervous system) and causes a LOT of upset...vomiting, diahrea, abdominal cramping and belly distention (even fever) are all symptoms of this syndrome...although it is rare for infants to show signs of this, it is possible. It is more common for children ages 4-6 to show sypmtoms, although even that is not common. It's challenging to diagnose because unless you do a Cat Scan or an MRI, it's impossible to know for sure (and apparently even those tests occasionally give false negatives)...so basically, the doctor has to look at the child's medical history, test results, past/current symptoms, and come to a conclusion that way.

What causes it??...well, it's a "psyche" issue...meaning, it's not viral or bacterial. Basically, when she becomes stressed or overly excited, this is how her body responds...vomiting and diahrea. Will she outgrow it? I don't know...I've been reading a lot of info online and most of what I've read has shown she won't. BUT, it is treatable with medication and the doctor has already said he will start her on that if the biopsy's come back negative for bacteria or functional problems.

So, on Thursday we should know if this diagnosis is official. We'd prefer this over something like Crohn's or Colitis, although we're not thrilled with this diagnosis either. :-( But we're very very thankful to finally be getting answers! It's been a long road, and we're glad to finally be close to the end!